By Danny Federico Riverbend News
On Tuesday. Sept. 7, the Suwannee County Board of Commissioners spent over five hours in their regular scheduled meeting, usually held at the Judicial Annex Building, going over the upcoming rises in fire assessment and solid waste taxes. Due to the amount of people who arrived at the meeting and COVID-19 concerns, the meeting was opened at 5 p.m. in the annex building, then immediately called to recess in order to move the meeting to the Suwannee County Coliseum, located at 1302 11th St. SW, in Live Oak. The meeting was then reopened at 5:21 p.m. The meeting started with a prayer, led by commissioner Chris Fleming and the Pledge of Allegiance. County commissioners in attendance were Vice Chairman Don Hale, District 1; Clyde Fleming, District 2; Travis Land, District 3; Chairman Len Stapleton, District 4 and Franklin White, District 5.
The first item discussed was the raising of fire assessment taxes. Because a large amount of people wanted to speak on this subject, a group swearing-in was performed. The current assessment rate for property owners is set at $100. Because of a deficit in the fire department averaging around $220,000 this year, assessment taxes were raised to $120 per dwelling unit, which is a 20 percent increase, with a possibility of taxes raising to $336 in the future. This raise in taxes includes dwelling units which are not occupied.
While a few people at the meeting expressed their concern with the raise, it appeared the main issue was with how the tax increase was presented. In addition, Property Appraiser Ricky Gamble noted the letters sent out occasionally had false or misleading information printed on them. One example of this is a letter stating a person has three dwelling units, when they only have one.
"If you got something on this letter that you don't think is accurate, come by the office or call and we'll verify it," Gamble said. "I'll verify it with the tax collector and I'll let you know what the tax record is going to show." There have been over 200 complaints reported about the letters having misprints. Those wishing to address a potential misprint on their letter should visit the Suwannee County Property Appraiser, located at 215 Pine Ave. SW B, in Live Oak or call (386) 362-1385.
Residents also stated they would have liked to know about the issue well before the Tuesday meeting, preferably by receiving a letter in the mail to let them know, so they would have had the opportunity to raise their concerns a lot sooner than the Tuesday meeting. Residents requested this be the case in the future, however, Suwannee County Attorney Jimmy Prevatt stated the current board of commissioners could not bind the future board to an agreement to mail out notices.
The second item discussed was waste disposal. As of now, residents are paying as low as $130 for solid waste assessment. In a workshop held in August, it was mentioned how this price was not covering increased costs to remove waste, leaving the county in a deficit. During the workshop, commissioner White suggested raising the cost to a minimum of $300 with the maximum being set to $493.05, which would begin on Friday, Oct. 1, in the 2021-22 budget.
During the public hearing on Tuesday, commissioner Land stated he had been doing research and suggested decreasing the original suggested amount from $300 to $225 just for this year, while the board continues looking into CARES funds to aid in building a new landfill. The board went back and forth on this new proposed amount, with many not in favor, claiming the price will inevitably have to rise to $300 sooner than later. However, citizens in attendance commended Land for his willingness to look into better options for residents' pockets. After a motion was made, the board approved the raising of the solid waste assessment to $225, 3-2, with Chairman Stapleton and commissioner Fleming opposing.
The next Suwannee County Board of Commissioners meeting will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 21, at 5 p.m. in the Judicial Annex Building, located at 218 Parshley St. SW, in Live Oak.